A conventional keyboard of an electronic keyboard musical instrument includes twelve keys (seven white longer keys and five black shorter keys) in a particular arrangement, for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale. The white keys are the seven notes of the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B), and the black keys represent the notes that are not part of the C major scale (i.e., C#/D flat, D#/E flat, F#/G flat, G#/A flat, A#/B flat). This pattern of white and black keys repeats at the interval of an octave. This type of keyboard has been used on the overwhelming majority of keyboard musical instruments for the past 300 years.
When one plays a conventional keyboard, each key signature on the keyboard appears as a unique series of notes. Because each key signature is unique, creative and seamless movement between keys while playing requires a level of theoretical and keyboard playing technical mastery that few people have ever achieved.
The conventional solution to this problem is the use of direct transposition. Direct transposition changes each and every note on the keyboard by a selected interval. While direct transposition does change the key signature, it may also create difficulties for the player. When the player plays a melodic line and uses direct transposition, the entire line will shift by that interval; thus making it challenging to transpose and play a stepwise melody.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved keyboards and transposition mechanisms that solve these and other problems.